Pintle-inserting machine



C. V. STRICKLAND.

PINTLE INSERTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULYZQ. 1919.

1,41 3,627. Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR I aim/ 5' V Shari/aim ATTORNEYS C. V. STRICKLAND.

'PlNTLE INSERTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29. 1919.

1,413,627. e ed Apr- 25, 1922.

5 HEETS-SHEET 2.

*1 w Mun NW II WI n'" WNW ATTORNEYS C. V. STRICKLAND.

PlNTLE INSERTING MACHINE.

I APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1919.

1,413,627. Patented pr- 25, 1922.

- 5 $HEETS-SHEET 3.

" mmmw INVENTOR Chi/ &3 V Sink/flaw! ATTORNEYS C. V. STRICKLAND.

PINTLE INSEBTING MACHINE- APPLICATION FILED JULY 29. m9.

1,413,627. mum Apr. 25, 1922.

s SHEETS-SHEET 4.

#3 f v wz ATTORNEYS C. V. STRICKLAND. PINTLE INSERTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29. 1919.

1,41 3,627. Patented Apr 25, 1922.

5 SHEETS-SHE ET 5.

"fr 6 I 7 ATTORNEYS CHARLES v. sTRicKLAnn, on WINSTON-SALEM, NORTHcanomna, g ssrelvon. TO R. *J.

REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY, or WINSTbN-SALEM, NORTH cAnoLInA, 003190-narrow on NEW JERSEY.

Application filed July 29,

To all whom it may concern- Be it known that I, CHAR ns V. STRIoK- LAND,a citizen ofthe United States, residing at l/Vinston-Salem, in thecounty of Forsyth and State of North Carolina, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Pintle-Inserting Machines, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to hinge forming machines, and particularlyto amachine for attaching hinge pintles to sheet metal blanks. Inparticular, it involves. various improvements insuch machines of thetype shown in the United States Patent to Richter No. 1,096,863, issuedMay 19, 1914;; though the improvements are mainly applicable also toother types of machine.

Machines of this general nature handle a sheet. metal blank, which mayeither be flat or formed into any other shape, the preferred typeoperating on flat blanks. The blanks are provided with suitableprojecting elements, which the machine wraps about a wirepintleautomatically cut off and brought into engagement with the blankelements. By this operation the pintle'is permanently mounted on theblank with spaces betwen the blank elements where the pintle may beengaged by the similar elements of the other hinge member.

An important feature of these machines is the accurate control of thewirefeeding mechanism, so that a proper length of wire may be locatedaccurately and without any deformations therein in juxtaposition to theblank elements .or tongues with engage the pintle. 4

A principal feature of my invention is'the V provision of improved wirefeeding means,

together with a more eflicientcontrol there.- for- V l A further objectis the employment of such means which will maintainfpositive control ofthe wire, and which may be adjusted to regulate with the greatestaccuracy the amount of wire fed forward.

I have also devised mechanism of this type which, is capable ofautomatic. control through the presence or absenceof blanks in properposition to receive a pintle, so that no wire will be fed to the pintlecutting mechanism when thereis no blank positioned to receive a pintle.The specific object of this feature is to .;provide wire feedingrmrnnansnarme MACHINE.

Specification of Letters fatent. Patented Apr, 25 1922,

1919. Serial No. 314,013.

mechanism whichhis normally maintained, as by resilient pressure, 1noperative positlon,

and is rendered inactive only upon failure to feed a blank to its properstation,

In the specific. embodiment of my invention, I .employ ama'chine adaptedto operate upon flat'metal container after receiving the to form thecontainer body, the machine for performing the latter operationinclu'ding'a guideway along which theblanks are. fed.

I have reconstructed and altered the ar-' ran'ngement and mechanism ofthe machine so that it may be mounted directly upon the body formingmachine, and is adapted to feed the pin'tle blanks directly to theguideway of the latter. In this arrangement I have also provided a driveconnection bebody blanks, which pintle are bent into shape tween thedriving mechanism of the body v machine and thatof the pintlemachine,'to assure complete accuracy and coordination betwen the two.Moreover, I; have provided means, also coordinately driven, for" accu:rately registering the blanks way of the, body forming'machine.-,

Another feature of my invention is the on the guide improvement of thefeed channel, which may be employed for. intermittently advancing theblanksuccessively to thepintling mech anism. With blanks ofthe typeusually" employed, which are lithographed on one side, it is not onlyimportant to have them fed positively and positioned with complete.

accuracy, but also to accomplish these objects without in any waymarring the lithographed surface. To this end I have im proved thefeeding arrangement to produce a minimum of friction on the surface, andhave provided means for pintling most economically and effectively forthe relatively rapid wear of the sidesofthe channel'caused bytheconstant friction of the sharp blank edges with a limited area onsaid sides.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription taken inv connection with-the accompanying drawings inwhich:

lithographed Figure 1 is a front viewof the entire machinemountedeon abody forming machine, part being broken away, V

I F igure-2 is a frontv view on a larger scale of the chief operatingmechanism of-my machine, parts being broken away,

edges of plates 20 as by Figure 3 is a top plan view of the blank andwire feeding mechanism,

Figure 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4: of Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a sectional top view of the wire straightening and feedingmechanism taken just above the feeding rolls,

Figures 6, 7, and 8 are vertical sectional views through the clinchinghead and the feed, showing the successive steps in inserting andclinching the pintle,

Figure 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the lower die co-operating withthe clinching head,

Figure 10 is a cross sectional view through the feed taken on line 10-10 of Figure 2,

rigure 11 is a plan vlew of the body blank with the pintle recess cutout, V

Figure 12 is a fragmentary view of the blank, showing the first step ininserting the pintle,

Figure 13 is a sectional view 13-13 of Figure 12,

Figure 14 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 12, showing the pintlein final clinched position,

Figure 15 is a sectional view on line 15-15 of Figure 1 1, and

Figure 16 is a sectional View on line 16-16 of Figure 14.

The machine isadapted to receive rectangular decorated blanks at one endof a feed channel or guideway, where the blank is picked up and fed bysuccessive steps first to the cutting mechanism and then to theclinching head. This feed channel, shown best inFigures 1 and 10, has aflat bottom which may consist of a pair of bottom plates 20 and 21,mounted on a support which may be of any desired form. I have on lineshown the feed channel carried mainly by bracket 22 mounted on frame 23of a body forming machine which also carries one end of the channel. Theupper faces of plates 20 and 21 form a flat channel 24L along which bodyblanks 25 are slid. 7 At opposite sides of the channel are upstandingflanges 26 and 27, preferably formed integral with the outer flanges mayform edge guides for the blank, but i prefer to mount detachable guidesthereon, as this portion of the channel is subject to constant frictionfrom the edges of the blanks, and consequently is the first to wear out.I may provide various forms of edge guides. In the construction shown, 1detachably mount a strip 28, preferably composed ofhardened steehon theinner surface of flange 27 as by screws 29. ()n the inner face of theopposite flange 26, I mount a similar strip of hardened steel 30 screwstuds 31, on which the strip is slidably mounted, spaced from the innerface of flange 26. Between strip 30 and the adjacent fiange 26 arelocated a plurality and 21 respectively. These preferably in the form ofshort bowed springs 82 through which studs 31 pass. The strip'30 is thusheld in resilient, adjustable contact with the edge of the blank 25, andholds it firmly in position in the channel without causing it to bind.It will be apparent that, in the construction shown, four wearingsurfaces on each strip can be presented to the edge of the body blank,as the'strips are reversible, both as to top and to bottom, and as tofront and rear faces, since screws 29 and studs 31 are equidistant fromthe top and bottom of the strips and. are equally spaced apart.

I have provided means for sliding body blanks along channel 2 by a stepby step movement. This may consist of a feed bar slidably mountedbetween plates 20 and of spring elements,

in). 21, preferably having its upper face flush with, and forming partof the bottom of channel 24. Feed bar 38 is pivotally connected throughlugs 3a to link 35' pivoted at its opposite end to the upper end of rockarm 36 which is pivoted at its lower end to bracket 22 and connectedintermediate its ends to connecting rod 37 which carries an eccentricstrap 38 engaging an eccentric 39 on vertical shaft 40, carried by theframe of the machine and preferably driven through bevel gears ll fromdrive shaft 42 of the body forming machine. Connecting rod 37is'attached at its ends to eccentric strap 38 anc to the pivot member onrock arm 36 by oppositely threaded connections, so that the normaldistance of the rock arm 36 from the eccentric may be adjusted byrotating rod 37. As will be seen, this will vary the location of theblanks at theend of.

the feeding stroke of the feed bar and facilitates the accuratepositioning of the blanks in register with the operating mechanisms. itis apparent that various otherarrangements may be made for reciprocatingthe feed bar, independently of the body forming machine drive. While anymethod of supplying the blanks to the feed mechanism may be used, mymachine is adapted for hand feeding, to facilitate which I have locatedaplatfform a2 -at the rear of the left hand end of the channel, uponwhich may be piled the rectangular blanks ready for feeding.

I have provided means on feed bar for engaging the rear edges ofsuccessive blanks.

In the form shown, I have provided a series of identical engagingelements spaced. along y the feed bar by a distance'slightly greaterthan the length of a blank. Each of these elements, shown best in Figure2, may con sist of a dog 43, pivoted at 44 in an undercut recess in thefeed bar 33, its inner end 45 being normally pressed downward intocontact with the bottom of the recess, by a spring 46. In its normalposition, the

outer end of the dog projects slightly above the upper surface of thefeed bar into the channel, and is adapted to engage therear end of ablank; a

I also provide means for holding the blanks in position against thebottom 'of the channel. This means preferably consists of a plurality ofblocks 47 shownbest in Figures 2, 3, and 10. These blocks may be of woodor other suitable material, their'weight being-sufficient to hold theblank against the channel bottom without m'arring the decorated surfaceof the blank during the feedthereof along the channel. Blocks 47 arearranged to rest lengthwise on the bottom of the channel, and arelooselyheld in position by guide plates 48 projectingover the top of flange26and adapted to ride on guide pins 49, carried by'the flange. 'Anydesired number of blocks 47 may be used, but they form, in any event,asub'stantially continuous pressure element bearing on' the uppersurface of the blank. The pressure from blocks 47 and strip 30 on'theblanks is sufficient to hold them in place when the feed bar 33 istraveling toward the left after completing a feed stroke,v do gs 43sliding under blanks 25, springs 46 being relatively weak. The feedoperation consists of a for-- ward or feedingmot-ionof' the feed bar inwhich each dog 43 carries a blank forward along the channel for a fixeddistance, and a return motion of the. feed bar, in WlllCll each dog ispulled back-under the preceding blank until it engages the rear edgethereof, when the forward motion is again started.

The operations hereinafter described are' performed on the blank "duringthe backwark stroke of thefeed' bar, the operating mechanisms servingfurther to hold the blanks 1n posltion.

The main operating mechanism is mounted on a ra1n'50 reciprocatedvertically in gnide'ways carried by overhanging arm 51 through,connecting rod 52 carried crank 53 on shaft 54 mounted at one endonbearings 55 in arm 51, and at the other end in a bearing 56, which maybe carried by the body of the machine. Shaft 54 is driven by meansoffbevel gears 57 from shaft 40 and preferably is constructed in twoparts detachablyconnected as by collar 58 keyed to both parts of theshaft 54, to facilitate assembly and repair of the machine. It will: beapparentthat the operativemechanism maybe reciprocated in other. ways,if desired; Mounted on the loweriend of ram is the carrier head,consisting of a horizontal plate fit), shown best inFigures' 2 and 6. Imount on plate '59 the cutting head and; the crimping head, in anydesired way.' I have showna downwardly extending flange 60 at the rearof head ,59"near its left hand end. towhich the cutter 6]. is detachablyfixed as by screw 62. The face of the cutter is so shaped that will cutthe faredge ofthe blank to form a pintle engaging element. This elementpreferably is produced by cuttinga series of spaced recesses 63 in. theblank, 'leaving' projecting tongues. 64 between them, asshown. Ihaveshown the form of hinge which has two'tongues on the body blank, butobviously any number may be used.- Mounted in plate 20 or, if. desired,formed as a partthereof, is the diev cooperating with the cutter. v r'At the opposite end of the rear edge of carrier head 59 isa similardownwardly pro-' jccting fiange 63 having at each end short forwardlyprojectingend flanges 64. A plate 65 is detachably mounted across thefront ends of flanges 64% to delinea guideway-between flanges .63 and.64 andsa-id plate, in which thepresser block 66 is adapted toreciprocate vertically. This block is 05 normally held in depressedposition against lugs or other stop-means, preferably engaging' plate65, by-means' of. a spring element of any desired form engaging theupper face of the block. I have shown a block rubber spring 67 mountedon standards 68011 the upper" side'of plate 59, the lower end of thespring carrying a plate 69, sli'dable vertically on said standards andcarrying plungers 70, passingthroughplate, 59 and bearingyieldablyagainst the upper side; of head66." i l V The pintle insertingfmechanismis' designed to perform the entire operation of downward motion of themechanism. To accomplish this object, the pintleis first pressed intothe tongues 64,-forcing them downinto a recess 71' in crimping die 72,which iseither mounted in or forms an in-' tegral part of plate 21. IRecess 71' is shaped insuch away that when the pintle is pressedagainstthe tongues 64"and adjacent o1 tions of the blank, the. recessaccommodates the downwardly bent portions to form a, i I

sunken seat for the pintle. I also'provide meansfor-simultaneouslyturning the outer- J ends of the tonguesnpwardl y,preferably to a, position at right angles with the blank" body. Thismeans, preferably consists of ai 1'15 fixed; lip 71 which, in theconstruction;- shown, forms the rear edge of, depression"; 71 butit willbe apparent that other fixed abutment-s or other members may-bensedinstead of lip1715to turn the outer endsjof the tongues upwardly eitherby being fixed in such a location'or' being movable against the tongueends to force them upward. In, the construction shown, it will be notedthat 11 571 practically forms. element separate. 125 7 from thedepressionin, frontiof-"it, having the independent function of f'turningthe tongue ends upward .whilethe depression receives the blank to form apintle seat .v These upwardly directed ends are then bent 13-0 aroundthe pintle to firmly hold it in place. Fresser block 66 is operated topress the pintle into the holding tongues to form a seat for the aintle.For this purpose, the block has a fiat lower face 73 lying above recess71. At the inner edge of face? are located a plurality of downwardlyprojecting fingers '74, registering with recesses 75 in die 72, leavingtables 76 between the recesses, the blank being so positionedthattongues 6 are located opposite and rest on tables 76. Spaced outwardlyfrom and opposite to each finger 7a is a guide rod 77, slidably mountedin a bore 78 in head 66, a spring 7 9 locatedin the bore resilientlypressing the guide rods downward.

I mount the tongue clinching mechanism on the carrier head. This mayconsist of clinching fingers S0 pivoted in vertical recesses in thelower edge of flange 63, each finger being located above one of thetables 76. A spring pressed plunger 81 bears against the forward end ofthe extended upper face of each finger, normally holding its lowerincurved end 82 in its rcarmost position. Head 66 is recessed oppositethe lower end of each finger 80 to permit the finger to swing forwardbetween fingers 7%. As

will be seen from Figures 6, 7 ,.and 8, the

pintle is inserted lengthwise bet-ween guide rods. 73 and fingers 74,belng prevented from i sliding out of registry with recess 71 by-theguide rods and fingers. The descent of the carrier head brings the lowerface 73 of the presser block against the pintle and presses it intotongues Gel, curving their outer ends upwardly, as shown in Figure 7."Face '73 then comes into contact with the surface of the blank, themotion of the head 66, stops, the continued descent of the carrier-headforces flange-'68 downward against the re sistance of spring 67, head 66riding upin its guideway. clinching finger 80 comes into contact with atable 76 and the further descent of the flange 63 causes the finger endto slide forward and clinch the upturned ends of tongues 64 over thedepressed pintle. It

.will. be noted that presser block 66 is extended beyond the endrecesses 63 and ,presses the pintle into the blank at each side of saidend recesses, into the position shown plalnly in Figure 16,:so that thepintle is seated at its ends in depressions in the blank body. 1

The pin'tle may be fed to the machine in anydesired way; I have shown apreferred form which includes meansfor intermittently feeding a wire andcutting off the proper length therefrom, the device also bein g. adaptedfor straightening the wire while it is being fed.

nism, best shown in Figures 2 and 3, is mounted on a bracket 83 attachedto overhanging arm51; On the outer end of the be adju stably .The lowerend 82 of each The, wire feeding mecha lower bearings 87 and 88 in thebracket.

The shafts are connected above the upper bearings 86 by meshing pinions89, so that they revolve in opposite directions. The rear shaft carriesintermediate its upper and lower bearings a ratchet- 90 engaged by pawl91, mounted on rock arm 92, pivoted loosely on shaft 84. Link 93 isadjustably pivoted, by means of pivot bolt 9 mounted in slot 95, on theouter end of rock arm 92 and carries on its opposite end, as shown inFigure 1, eccentric strap 96 engaging eccentric 97 mounted on verticalshaft 40. lit will be seen that the rotation of, shaft 40 will operatethe rock arm 92 and intermittently revolve shafts Stand 85. Theadjustment of bolt 94 in slot 95 will vary the extent of swing ofv rockarm 92, thus varying the degree of rotation of shafts 84 and 85 andregulating theamount of feed, as will be hereinafter seen. 7 Check pawl98 is mounted on a lug 99 attached to bracket 83 to prevent reversemotion of the ratchet.

()n the lower end of shaft 84 is mounted feedroller 100, pressed againstand 00-' These rollers are grooved tostraighten any small irregularitiesin the wire, and are pressed together with suflicient force to grip thewire and feed it'.

obtained by having bearing 88 of the shaft 85 carried by threaded inadetachable plate 104 mounted on the lower face of the bracket,said'bolt I a block slid able in ways 1n bracket 83 and normally Thispressure may 7 103 bearing against the outer face of block 102. It willbe apparent that, if desired, 7

spring pressed means may be'used, pressing against block 102 and may beadjustable by mounting it with its outer end in contact with. bolt'103,as shown in Figure 4. The upper bearing 86 of shaft 85 is sufficientlyloose to permit the slight play necessary in adjusting the position ofblock 102 to produce the proper pressure between the feed wheels; or,ifdesired, an adjust able bearing similar to the lower bearing may beinserted instead of the fixed bearing 86 for shaft'85.

a straightening wheel 105 adjustably mounted on an extension of bracket83, and grooved so that the wire passes partly around wheel 105 and thena short distance in the opposite direction around roller'10O to thepoint of contact with roller 101. This will serve to iron outirregularities in the wire. Guide slot 106, through which the wirepasses from a holder outside the ma.-

In order to straighten the pintle wire before delivering it to theypintle inserting mechanism, 1 have provided chine, is carried by lug 107attached to the bracket extension upon which wheel 105 is mounted. Uponthe opposite side of rollers 100 and 101 from lug 107 is mounted agrooved guideroller 107 adjustably fixed on the lower side of bracket83, the axis of roller 107 being adjustably clamped in a transverse slotin the bracket. The pintle wire is fed to the clinching mechanismthrough a passage in guide block 108-, which fits closely against theside of the reciprocating presser block66 so that the edge of the block,in its descent, Will shear off the wire. The parts are so proportionedthat" this will not occur until guide rods 77 are in,

contact With the face of the blank and fingers 74 areslightly below theface so that the wire is positively located above recess 71. The feedingoperation of the wire is so timed that the Wire-is fed forward underhead 66 duringthe upward motion of the head, and is held stationarywhile the head is descending, rock arm 92 being "on its backstrokeduringthe pintle cutting and clinching operation.

I have further provided means for preventing the wire feed fromoperating when no body blank is located under the presser block. Toaccomplish this object, I provide a relatively heavy arm 109 pivoted atone end to an upstanding extension 110 on the rear channel flange 27.The other end of arm 1O9 has a rearwardly extending stud 111 to which isconnected, by means of link 112, a lever 1 13 pivoted at 114 to bracket83, the opposite end of the lever projecting through the. bracket andbeing formed into an arcuate. releasing cam 115, having a bevelled upperface 116. A pin 117 mounted on pawl 91, extends to a point immediatelyabove face 116 of the releasing cam. The free end of'arm 109 ispositioned so as'to rest on the upper surface of a blank located inposition beneath the presser block. When no blank is so located, the endof arm 109 drops into a recess 118 in plate 21, shown in Figures 2 and10, thus pulling the left hand end of lever 113 downwardly and elevatingreleasing cam115, pin 117 being pushed outwardly by the inclined face116 of'the cam, leaving pawl 91 out of engageoperat ve position.

ment with ratchet 90. In this position, it will be apparent that arm- 92may rock back and forth continuously-without rotating shafts 84 and 85to feed the wire, as the lower end of pin 117 slides back and forthalong face 116 of the releasing cam and holds pawl 91 out of engagement,

regardless of the position of arm 92. Consequently no wire is fed in theabsence of a body blank under the crimping head.

As stated, the blank feeding mechanism is so constructed as to beadapted for feeding the pintled blanks to the feedwayi of a standandbody forming machine. I have provided mechanism adapted to be mountedonthe latter to receive the blanks delivered from the feed of my machineand position them accurately on the body machine feed so that the,carriage of the latter will engage them without any manipulation :by theoperator.

This mechanism preferably'consists of a le ver 119 pivoted on a bracket120'mounted on the bed of a body forming machine,- one end chronizedwith the feed of the blanks, both being driven from shaft 40, thatpositioning plate 124 is lifted during the feeding motion of the pintlemachine to receive a blank, and descends during the return motion of thefeeding mechanism, locating the blank properly so that it is engaged andremoved by the carriage of the bod-yvmachine prior to the feeding of thenext succeeding blank This mechanism, of course, will be omitted'when mymachine is operated as a separate unit.

a The operation of my'machine is as follows: The decorated rectangularblanks are fed in any desired manner, by hand or other.- wise, onto theleft hand end ofchannel 24, which is left-uncovered by block 47 for thispurpose. The first of thedogs 43 engages its edge and during theforwardmotion of feed inserted. -()n the next, forward mot-ion, bothblanks are advanced. In this or a subsequent advancing step, the blankis positioned under cutter 61, which descends during thereturn motionofth'e feed bar and cuts the edge of the blank ina suitable location-soas to form a pintle engaging element, which may consist of a successionof tongues and recesses. Ram 50 then rises and the cut blank is advancedonestep, to position it beneath the clinching mechanism, arm 1O9 ridingover the upper surface of the blank and maintaining the wire feedingmechanism in the rock arm 92 is actuated to revolve shafts 84 and andfeed a suitable length of wire through guide block 108. During thereturn motion of;the-feed banthe'carrier head descends, first cuttingoff the pintle, thenpressing it into the blank to form a seat, upturningthe ends of the tongues, and finally clinching the tongues about thepintle. Upon the ascent of the carrier head, the next blank, which; hasjust beenrecessed, takes its place-.-

Each, blank is fed to the delivering end of.

the channel, where it is projected onto 1 the feed guideway of the bodyforming machine,

Through: eccentric" '97 the receiving plate 1% being lifted While theforward motion of the feed bar inserts a pintle blank on the guideway,and being dropped to engage the blank and position it while the feed baris on its back stroke.

If my machine is operated as a separate unit, any desired form ofreceiver for the 'pintled blanks may be provided.

For purposes of illustration, I have shown my pintle inserting mechanismas applied to a special form of machine for producing a can body, but itwill be apparent that the pintle attaching mechanism may be utilized toattach a pintle to various forms of metal articles, and its scope is notconfined to the specific use herein shown.

While I have described a specific form of blank, a specific form ofpintle supply including a wire feed, and specific cutting and pintleinserting mechanisms, it will be apparent that numerous changes indetails of the mechanism may be made; and I do not consider my inventionto be limited to the specific form disclosed, further than isnecessitated by the scope thereof as covered by the claims.

I claim:

1. In a pintle inserting machine, means for advancing a continuous wirefrom which successive pintles may be out, including a wire engagingroller, means for rotating said roller to feed the wire, and a devicefor normally maintaining said rotating mean's in inoperative position,said device being rendered inactive by the presence of a blank in pintleinserting position.

2. In a pintle inserting machine, means for advancing a continuous wirefrom which successive pintles may be cut, including a wire engagingroller, means for rotating said roller to feed the wire including areciprocating pawl, and a device for normally rendering the rotatingmeans inoperative by re taining the pawl in inactive position, said.device being rendered inactive by the presence of a blank in pintleinserting position.

3. In a pintle inserting machine, a horizontal feedway for blanks,pintle inserting mechanism operating on blanks in said feed way, andwire feeding mechanism for supplying pintle wire to the insertingmecha-V nism, including horizontal rollers engaging the wire, oneof'said rollers having a vertical shaft, means for intermittentlyrotating said shaft, means for feeding blanks along the feedway, and acommon drive system for synchronizing the feed of said blanks and pintlewire. 7

4. In a pintle inserting machine, a horizontal feedway for blanks,pintle inserting mechanism operating on blanks in said feedway, and wirefeeding mechanism forsupplying pintle wire to the inserting mechanism,including horizontal rollers engaging the Wire, one ofsaid rollershaving a vertical raises? shaft, means for intermittently rotating saidshaft, means for feeding blanks along the feedway, and a device fornormally rendering the shaft rotating means inoperative, said devicebeing rendered inactive by the presence of a blank in pintle insertingposition.

In a pintle inserting machine, wire feeding mechanism including a pairof op posed wire gripping rollers, and a wire straightening rollerengaging the wire at a point offset from the line of passage of the wirebetween said gripping rollers.

6. In a pintle inserting machine, wire feeding mechanism including apair of opposed wire gripping rollers, a wire straightening rollerengaging the wire at a point offset from the line of passage of the wirebetween said gripping rollers, and a guide for directing the wire to thestraightening roller at an angle to its line'of departure therefrom.

7. In a pintle inserting machine, wire feeding mechanism including apair of opposed wire gripping rollers, wire straightening meansincluding a device for guiding the wire about a substantial portion ofthe periphery of one roller before passing between the rollers; and astraightening guide engaging the wire beyond the gripping rollers on theconcaved side of the wire.

8. In a pintle inserting machine having an inserting station, means foradvancing a continuous wire, includinga pair of rotata 'ble elementsbetween which the Wire is clamped, and means for rotating said elements;means for advancing successive blanks to the inserting station, meansrendered inoperative by the presence of a blank in the insertingstation, for rendering said rotating means inoperative and preventingthereby the advance of the wire, and means for severing a pintle lengthfrom the end of the wire' and attaching it to the blank. V 9. In apintle inserting machine having an inserting station, 'means foradvancing a continuous wire, including a pair of rotatable elementsbetween 'which the wire is clamped, and means for rotating saidelements, including a ratchetand an oscillating pawl engaging saidratchet; means for advancing successive blanks'to theinserting station,means rendered inoperative by the presence ofa blank in theinsertingstation, for. rendering said rotating means inoperative by holding thepawlout of engagement with the ratchet, and preventing thereby theadvance of the wire, and means for severing a pintle length from the endof the wire and attaching it to the blank. r

10. In a pintle inserting machine having an inserting station, means foradvancing a continuous wire, including rotating elements between whichthe 7 wire a is clamped, and means for intermittently rotating one ofsaid ment with the ratchet, a cam element adapted to force said pawl outof engagement with the ratchet, a member. shifted from normal positionby the insertion of a blank in the inserting station, and meansconnecting said last named member with the cam member adapted to movethe cam member out of engagement with the pawl and permit the latter toengage the ratchet when a tioned in the inserting station.

11. In a pintle insertingmachine having an inserting station, means forfeeding successive blanks to said station, means for intermittentlyadvancing a continuous wire the length of a pintle, includinga pair ofrotatable members between which the wire is clamped, driving connectionsbetween said members, a ratchet operatively connected to one of saidmembers, an oscillating arm mounted coaxially with said ratchet, meansfor oscillating said arm, a pawl carried by the arm normally maintainedin engagement -with the ratchet, an arm shiftable relative to theratchet, a cam carried by said arm having a face lying adjacent to thenormal path of the pawl and adapted to force the pawl out of engagementwith the ratchet without interfering with its oscillation, and means formaintaining said cam in position to hold the pawl away from the ratchet,said last named means being rendered inoperative by the presence of ablank in the inserting station.

12. In a machine of the class described, pintle engaging mechanism,blank feeding means for positioning a blank in said mechanism to receivea pintle, means for feeding a pintle to the pintle engaging means, saidfeed means including a ratchet and a pawl engaging the ratchet,continuously operated to actuate the pintle feed means, a disconnectingelement adapted to engage the pawl and hold it out of engagement withthe ratchet, permitting the-continuous actuation of the pawl butpreventing any movement of the feed means thereby, and a memberconnected to the disconnecting element and normally resting in the pathof the blanks, the construction being such that the member is shifted bythe feeding of a blank to the pintle engaging mechanism and operates toshift, in turn, the disconnecting element and permit the pawl to engagethe ratchet, thus operating the pintle feed in the presence of a blank,

but rendering it inoperative in the absence of a blank.

13. In a machine of the class described, a

guideway adapted to slidably receive a plurality of blanks, infrictional contact with one wall thereof, and a removable friction blankis posi-' plate mounted thereon adapted to be reversed so as to presenta new friction surface for the action of the blanks. p I

14. In a machine. of the class described, a guideway for slidablyreceiving a plurality of blanksya wall resiliently pressed against theblanks toforce them into contact with the opposite wall, saidresiliently pressed wall being reversible to present a new frictionsurface to the blanks. i

15. In a machine of the class described,

guideway for slidably receiving a plurality of blanks, resilient meanson one side of the i 75 guideway for pressing the blanks into contactwith the opposite wall, and a plate detachably mounted on said oppositewall so constructed as to be reversible to presenta I new frictionalsurface to the sliding blanks. 7 16. In a machine of the classdescribed, a

guideway for slidably receiving a plurality of blanks, and a memberresting by gravity upon'the blanks to hold them in contact with thebottom ofthe guideway.

17. In a machine of the class described, .a guideway adapted to slidablyreceive rality of blanks, a reciprocating feed member adapted to slidethe blanks along the guideway during the feed motion of the member, andmeans for holding the blanks in fixed position during the returnmovement of the member, said means including an element resting bygravity upon the blanks to hold them in contact with the bottom of theguideway.

18. In a machine of the class described, a guideway adapted to receive aplurality of can body blanks, means for feeding the blanks along theguideway to the pintle inserting mechanism and thereafter to the.feeding mechanism of abody forming ma chine; and means mounted on saidbody forming machine, to position the blank accurately on the feedmechanism of said machine.

V 19. In a machine of the class described, a guideway for receiving aplurality of can body blanks, means for feeding the blanks along theguideway to pintle inserting mechanism and thereafter, to the feedmechanism of. a body forming machine; a positioning plate-located abovethe feed mechanism of the body forming machine, and'means for firstshifting the plate to receive a blank and I then for returning the plateto position the blank accurately, and

actuating both the blank feeding means and driving means for thepositioning plate shifting means so asto operate both means insynchronism.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. i I

CHARLESV. STRICKLAND.

